Why should steep turns be avoided in the landing pattern?
Why should steep turns be avoided in the landing pattern? Add a distraction such as conflicting traffic or a problem in the cockpit and you're ripe for a late turn onto final and the potential for a cross- control stall. Making that turn to final, you don't want to make a steep banked turn because you know that the stall speed increases with bank angle.
Do planes lose altitude when turning?
Increased drag slows the airplane. Also, in a turn, there's less area of lift under a wing, causing it to lose altitude. However, to compensate, pilots angle the airplane up as well as increase thrust (speed) to maintain a constant altitude during a turn.